Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, and he radioed back to Earth the historic news of "one giant leap for mankind." He spent nearly three hours walking on the moon with fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

Armstrong and hiw wife, Carol, married in 1999, made their home in the Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill, but he had largely stayed out of public view in recent years.

He spoke at Ohio State University during a February event honoring fellow astronaut John Glenn and the 50th anniversary of Glenn becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. In May, Armstrong joined Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida to support the opening of The National Flight Academy, which aims to teach math and science to kids through an aviation-oriented camp.

The next guy to come close to Armstrong's achievement will be the first man to set foot on Mars.

ukjeff, I do find it strange he kept himself to himself for so much of his life while his compadre Buzz Aldrin is a well known face happy to talk about it. But who knows what effect walking on the Moon and looking back down at the Earth might have on a man. I've always wondered what Michael Collins' take on the whole thing was, sitting up in orbit while his two crewmates stepped on to another world.